


Melting Point

by Creed Cascade (creedcascade)



Series: Melting Point [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Child Abuse, Codependency, Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationship, Dysfunctional Family, Eventual Romance, Family Issues, Foster Care, Juvie, Legends are Born, Life Partners, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series, Protective Mick, Scheming, Slow Build, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 07:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6509185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creedcascade/pseuds/Creed%20Cascade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Len wasn't the first Snart to meet Mick. Lisa met Mick first in foster care. Following their relationship through juvie and the aftermath.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Protector

**Author's Note:**

> Minors are involved but no sexuality. Potential triggers for child abuse.

When the social workers came, this time they separated the Snart siblings.

Len went to the emergency room.

Lisa was sent to a foster home. 

The only reason Len let Lisa go anywhere without him was simply because he was unconscious when the police came - his dad's friends, so there would be no charges. But the social worker was new and didn't know who his father was. 

Lisa had called 911 after their dad passed out. Lisa bit the social worker who pulled her off of Len and held her back so they could load him onto a gurney. That's what Lisa told him at least. 

"I'm sorry I was a rat," Lisa whispered the first time they saw each other again. "I broke the rules... but, it was worse than normal, Lenny. You wouldn't wake up and there was so much blood. I was scared."

Len hugged his sister. "I'm not mad and you ain't no rat. You did what you had to do. Thanks, sis."

He'd been separated from his baby sister for ten days. Ten days too long. Lisa was tough for a little kid, but that was too long for her to be alone. Len knew what could happen. So he had to hold his sarcastic tongue and be nice so he would be placed with Lisa when he was released. He'd played The Game... flashing big, blue eyes and playing it real sweet. A classic con. This time it worked and they were together again. 

He hugged his sister tighter. "You okay?"

"M'fine." Lisa buried her face against his chest. "There were big kids there."

His grip tightened. "Tell me."

"One of the big boys... he wasn't very nice. I remembered what you said, Lenny... I tried to stay near the adults all the time, but he cornered me one night in the bathroom-"

"What happened?" Len asked. He was going to kill him. Slowly and painfully. 

"He cornered me," Lisa repeated. "I was so scared. The creepy boy stared to touch my hair... he said I was pretty and he wanted to be my friend. Then..."

"It's okay, you can tell me."

"Then, this other big kid came in... he busted down the door, Lenny, and he saved me! He was so big! The big boy dragged the creepy boy away from me. He was so mad and the big boy beat the creepy one up. Told him not to touch me... told the creepy one to stay away from me, or he'd kill him... burn him up like a marshmallow. The big boy said I was under his protection. After that, all the other kids left me alone, even after the social worker hauled the big boy off. He told me if any of the kids gave me trouble that all I had to do was tell them his name. I did that and it worked. They left me alone. They were afraid of the big boy, but I'm not."

"What's his name?"

"Mick. Like Mickey the Mouse. He was real nice, Lenny, but not creepy nice. Nice like you... grumpy on the outside but squishy on the inside. After Mick scared away the creepy boy, he got down on one knee and asked me if I was okay. He's big, like an adult, and his voice... he talks like Batman. He's like Batman, Lenny, like a real superhero."

Len held his sister tighter. "This Mick, did he do anything else?"

"Yeah, he kinda took care of me before the fight since I was the youngest kid there. He called me scrawny and gave me his oatmeal. Mick said I needed to eat more, or I'd blow away. He pretends to be mean, but he's not. He even told me a story about a fire breathing dragon who stole all the gold in the kingdom. He likes to plays with matches... he didn't do it around me, but I caught him once and promised to keep it secret. Mick let me watch cartoons even though he wanted to watch the news about some sort've fire. What kinda kid wants to watch the news, Lenny?"

"This kind apparently," Len said. "Nothin' else?"

"Yeah," Lisa said with a small nod. "He said if anyone tried that again to let him know and that he'd find 'em, then make sure they'd never do it again. He gave me a present, Lenny."

"What's that?"

Lisa pulled away and knelt down to pull something hidden in her purple sock. She unfurled her fingers to reveal a small, gilded pocket knife. It was old, with the fake gold chipped off the corners. "He gave me a knife. Showed me how to hide it and said if anyone gave me trouble like that again to stab 'em. He said I'm young and wouldn't get in any real trouble if I did. It's gold, Lenny. I love gold."

Len ruffled his sister's hair and managed a smirk. "I know you do, sis."

"You're not mad?"

"No, I'm glad there was someone there to protect you when I couldn't be there. I'm so sorry I wasn't there and this Mick guy was right about one thing. I'll teach you how to protect yourself."

Len knew they'd be sent home soon even though his bruises were still vivid. It was only a matter of time before their dad bribed the right people. This incident would be erased from the files, just like all the rest. 

Experience taught him that the only one in this world looking out for them was themselves. This Mick character was an unknown.

Len would remember the name Mick.


	2. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the attack in juvie, an authority figure doesn't think it's safe for Len to be around Mick.

\- Central City Juvenile Detention Centre -

Len was forced to go to yet another dreary institutional room, painted a sickly mint green this time, to do something else he didn't want to do. The hardest part of juvie was accepting he didn't have control over the smallest choices. There was no guard was behind the closed door. Guess being one of the youngest and smallest inmates, Len didn't qualify as a threat yet. On this morning's agenda, one shrink coming up. 

"Good morning, Leonard. Please, have a seat."

"Don't call me that," Len said, an expression of distaste crossing his face. He slid into the hard, plastic chair with a scowl. 

Fucking shrinks. He hated them all. He hated that name, too. Leonard. The name his father gave him. One day Len intended to give himself a new name... a better name. Something he could be proud of, but for now he was forced to go by his birth name. Len hated a lot of things these days. 

"What then?" The psychiatrist-of-the-week asked. This time a middle-aged woman.

Len slouched lower in his chair and sighed. "I'm sure my preference for Len is noted in file. You're fishing."

"You're a very perceptive young man with a large vocabulary," she said. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Weekly tune-up? Your doctorly concern? I'm touched, really."

"Mmm, fine defence mechanism you have there. You know why you're here, Len."

"Yeah, I got sloppy," Len responded.

Not him though - his father. His father got sloppy on a job and needed a scapegoat since his car was spotted at the crime scene. Len wasn't even there, but his father altered the evidence and told the cops his troubled son stole the car. His father said it was necessary and it was "only" a stint in juvie.

His first time. A milestone. It would make a man out of him. 

Fuck him. 

He was blackmailed to take the fall for his father, or the old man would hurt Lisa. Len did as his father commanded to keep his sister safe.

"Thinking too big, Len. Think more small-scale. Do you want to tell me how you got those bruises?"

"A door knob." Len shrugged his shoulders and sneered. "I fell, doc. Whoops?" 

"Of course. That door knob hit you multiple times, bruised your ribs, gave you a concussion, and stabbed you... clumsy indeed. You got lucky that stab wound was superficial."

"All of it an unfortunate accident."

Not an accident at all. A calculated risk to draw Mick out and it worked perfectly. The baby thugs were all too easily manipulated when Mick was finally in the right place in the yard. There was a split second when he was pinned down that Len almost thought Mick wouldn't take the bait. 

It was the stab wound that got Mick in the action. Mick launched himself into the fray without a word. Fists flying. Fury. Rage. Strength. It was a thing of beauty. He beat down three goons and the guards hauled him away while Len bled on the gravel. 

Len hadn't expected the shiv, just a run of the mill beat down - a massive miscalculation. Being a cop's kid, even a dirty cop, made him a bigger target. Mick saved his life. Len wouldn't forget that and Lisa's impressions about the older boy had been true. 

"The most recent injuries are layered on top of old scars. You have a history with door knobs." The head doctor strummed her fingers on the desk top. "And, yet, you've had no attacks... I mean, "accidents" since. The guards tell me you have a new friend."

Bingo. This was about Mick.

"No one has friends in here," Len said. "You know that."

"He's pretty hard to miss, really. Bigger than some of the guards. Your new shadow from what I hear. Which is why we're really here." She glanced down at a file. "Michael Rory."

"Mick," Len corrected automatically. The name was pronounced short and clipped. 

"Busy young man, this Mick... industrious... arson, battery, breaking and entering, uttering threats, and oh... a classic... resisting arrest. And, that's just this time around. Next stop, Iron Heights Penitentiary."

Sounded like Mick. 

"He didn't do it," Len said and smirked. "A misunderstanding. Didn't you know we're all innocent?"

"Yourself included?"

"Of course, but no one believes me. I was framed."

"You're deflecting. He's a deeply troubled young man and you're only fourteen years old, Len. This is your first time in juvie and you're... small for your age and the kids know what your father does for a living."

Len crossed his arms over his chest. "What're you playing at?"

"You don't have to do it, Len. We can could transfer you. Maybe-"

"I think you are misinterpreting the situation, doc. It ain't like that."

She shook her head. "I'm here to help. He's older and stronger. He's offering protection?"

"He's my..." Len faulted for a term. "He's convenient. And, for the record, he's not like that. Mick isn't a... he says he likes girls and he hasn't touched me like that. He's not a pervert. So fuck off, doc, and mind your own business."

"Interesting choice of words. Do you mean pervert in reference to someone who's homosexual, or someone who-"

"Shut up," Len snapped. 

"Is he your friend? Is that what he tells you?"

"Mick actually doesn't talk a lot. The strong, silent type, ya know."

That part wasn't a lie. Mick didn't talk a lot. He watched people. Assessed. The guards and other kids thought Mick was dumb, but Mick was far from it. Mick went to classes because they were all forced to. He sat at the back of the classroom with his feet up on a desk, ignoring the teacher. Mick knew what was going on around him and how the hierarchy of juvie worked. Mick was useful. He lacked impulse control, but Len could work with that. 

"Len, I know your unofficial case history."

"So what?"

"Children of abusers have the tendency to become abusers-"

"I'm not like him," Len hissed, letting his control slip. "I'm not my father."

"I agree," she said. "You're highly intelligent and protective of your little sister. Children of abusers can also be drawn into unhealthy relationships."

"I'm not in a relationship."

"Unhealthy association, then. Mr. Rory is well on the path to becoming a hardened, career criminal. He's a dangerous individual. There was another fight I understand? No one is naming names, but my sources say he laid waste to someone who-"

"Aren't you violating some sort of code discussing Mick with me?"

In the dormitory, they shared a bunk now. Len slept on the bottom bunk and Mick claimed the top bunk. Mick glared at anyone who dared to come too close. Len had been labelled Mick Rory's property after the most recent fight. Not true, but it would work for now. It would keep the creeps away. 

Mick was a work-in-progress. A long, term project. Len managed to supply Mick with matches, smuggled in from a hidden source. It was an immediate payoff that Mick couldn't resist until Len could earn his trust. Mick thought it was payback for taking care of his kid sister and watching his back now.

Earning Mick's trust would take a long time. Len knew the older boy had abandonment and trust issues. The doctor wasn't the only one who knew big words. Len was bored and the library offered more than enough books to keep him a distracted for now, including old psychology text books. Mick was a mean son-of-bitch, but he had an old school code. Don't harm kids and innocent women. Len was pretty sure it had something to do with him mother, but Len was still working it all out.

"I'm only trying to look out for you."

"You won't be there when the lights are off, doc," Len sneered. "Your bleeding heart won't save me from a shiv. Mick's real. He's my... partner."

The label seemed to fit. 

"I could have him transferred."

"Then the next time you'd see me will be in the hospital or morgue. Don't threaten him, or me. Leave us alone."

The head-doctor managed a sad smile. "Just be careful, Mr. Snart. You possess so much potential and despite your posturing, you aren't a hardened criminal yet. You could turn it all around."

Len barked out a short laugh. "I thought you said you knew my unofficial file, doc? Won't happen. I'm a lost cause. Are we done here?"

"For now, but my door is always open."

"Whatever." Len slammed the door behind him and skulked out of the room. 

Mick was waiting for him in the hallway, leaning against the concrete wall with his arms crossed over his thick chest. He looked bored but the corner of his mouth quirked up when he saw Len. "Hey, kid."

"I told you not to call me kid." 

"Bossy," Mick chuckled, low and deep. "Fine. Hey, boss."

"Real funny. Watching guard? They pay people for that. I believe they are called guards. You know the assholes who keep us in this fine institution. I believe you're familiar with them?"

"You got a smart mouth, Snart. Gonna get you in trouble one day."

"Already has on more than one occasion."

Mick pushed himself off the wall and bumped shoulders with Len. "So?"

"So, she offered to transfer me."

"No," Mick growled. He reached out and grabbed the back of Len's neck, his fingers pressing in.

Len froze, searching for guards and seeing none in the vicinity. Mick's grasp was warm and firm. "No?"

"No," Mick repeated back. "Got it?"

"You don't own me, Mick," Len said, but didn't fight the restraining grasp. "If I stay, I chose to stay. Got it?"

"Bossy," Mick chuckled deep and gave Len a little shake. "You got nerve... and matches. I like both. You'll stay."

"She asked me if you were my friend." Len looked up at the older boy, holding his gaze.

"What did ya say, Lenny?"

It was the first time Mick called him anything other than Snart, kid, or boss. Boss... Mick's idea of a funny nickname. Len didn't mind it. 

"Told her you were my partner. Suppose I can't leave my partner."

Mick let go of Len's neck and his hand came up, tracing along the back of his neck to ruffle Len's hair. "Partners, huh?"

"Yes, partners. Got a problem with that?" 

"Nope, boss." Mick grinned, possessive, and scary. "Partners works. Time for grub. Heard it was chicken nuggets. C'mon, you can have my cookie. You're scrawny like your sis. Gotta bulk you up."

Most people would run if Mick smiled at them like that. He was looking at Len almost like he looked at fire. Obsessive. Enthralled. 

To Len it felt right. A promise for some day. He wouldn't always be a scrawny fourteen year old. He knew some day that his body would catch up to his mind and Mick would be at his side.

Some day they could get out of this hell-hole.


End file.
